Railway mail-catcher.



N. H. CAMPBELL. RAILWAY MAIL OATOHER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 1, 1909.

Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

/$ v -/6 25 zl mzza 02/ ll zwzesses.

NEILL I-I. CAMPBELL, OF IBINGI-IAMTON, NEW YORK.

RAILWAY MAIL-CATCHER.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. "2, 1909.

Application filed. February 1, 1909. Serial No. 475,443.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NEILL H. CAMPBELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Binghamton, in the county of Broome, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railway Mail- Catchers, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in railway mail catchers, adapted to be mounted in the door opening of a mail car and projected outwardly a suflicient distance to catch or receive a mail bag which is suitably supported at one side of the train in the path of the moving catcher.

My main object is to provide a mail catcher for the purpose described, which will be normally held in operative position when adjusted for use and immediately disappears into the car with the bag therein upon contact with such bag.

Another object is to provide the catcher with a flexible back or receptacle of rope netting, capable of yielding under the force of the impact with the mail bag therewith as the car with the mail catcher thereon moves past the mail bag support.

Other objects and uses relating to specific parts of the device will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a car showing my improved mail catcher thereon, and also showing the mail bag support at the side of the moving car. Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively a longitudinal sectional View and a transverse sectional view of the device shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the swinging frame showing the roller post thereon. Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view through the post seen in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the intersecting portions of the rope forming the basket showing particularly the manner of tying said intersecting portions together.

This mail bag comprises a substantially rectangular frame 1-- and a receiving frame or basket 2- slidable upon the frame 1 to and from its receiving position or into and out of the door of the car.

The main supporting frame -l is hinged at its outer end to swinging supports -3 which are in turn hinged to the side of the door, thereby permitting a backward and forward and horizontal rocking movement of said frame, the inner end of the frame being provided with one or more casters or rollers -4 which ride upon the floor of the car to facilitate the action of the frame from one position to another, and support it some distance above the floor. This frame 1 is preferably composed of lower and upper channel bars 5 spaced a sufiicient distance apart to receive the bag between them and are united together at their ends by upright bars 6 and an intermediate bar -7, the latter being spaced apart a sufficient distance from the inner end bar 6 to permit the removal of the mail bag therethrough when drawn backwardly by the receiving frame or basket The cage or basket 2 preferably consists of a rectangular frame 8- and a flexible rope netting basket 9 of comparatively coarse mesh, the ropes or cords of which are fastened at their intersections and secured at their ends to the frame 8 in a manner presently described. This frame 8 is composed of upper and lower side bars 10 spaced substantially the same distance apart as the bars 5- and parallel therewith, end bars -11- and an intermediate bar 12, the end and intermediate bars being rigidly connected to the side bars.

The intermediate bar l2 is located near the inner end bar 11 a suflicient distance from the outer end bar 11 to easily receive a mail bag as w which is shown as supported upon a laterally projecting arm or crane a2-w in the path of the open side of the receiver -.2.

The bars 10 of the receiving basket 2 are slidably interlocked with the corresponding bars 5 of the main frame 1 and for this purpose both sets of side bars are preferably made of channel irons, the lengthwise flanges or ribs of the adjacent bars 9 and --10 being slidably interfitted with each other. That is, the adjacent bars 5- form grooved ways in which the adjacent bars 10 of the frame or basket 2- slide.

A tubular coil spring case 13 is secured to the inner end bar -6 and intermediate bar -7- substantially midway between the side bars 5 for receiving a coil spring 14-, one end of which is attached to an eye 15 on the inner end of the casing 13- and the opposite end is attached to an ear l5 on the inner end of the sliding frame 8, said spring serving to retract or draw the basket 2- inwardly into the car from its receiving position when released.

The outer end bar 6 is provided with a laterally projecting pin or detent l6 for receiving a slotted arm or tongue 17 on the inner end bar -ll of the basket frame 8, said tongue or arm being provided with an elongated slot 'l8 through which the pin l6 projects for the purpose of temporarily locking the receiving basket in position for receiving the bag when adjusted for use.

Supported across the open side of the receiving basket is a lock releasing'device consisting of two pivotally connected arms 19 and 20 and two ring segments 21 in the axial line of the pivotal connection as 22 of the arms 19- and 20 so that the bars l9 and 20- and segments 2l are free to swing on the same axis, such axis being substantially midway in the opening between the outer end bar 11 and intermediate bar 12 of the receiving frame 8.

The outer end of the arm 20 is flexibly connected by a chain or similar connection 23 to the outer end bar 1l and is also connected by wires 24 to the outer ring segment 21, the inner ring segment '2l being attached to the arm -l9. This arm 19 extends some distance inwardly from the ring segments -2l and its inner end is preferably bifurcated or slotted and adapted to fit upon the pin -16- preferably between the arm -17 and bar 6 as best shown in Fig. 3 and serves as a tripping or unlocking device for disengaging the arm 17 from the pin l6- as the pivotal connections of the arms 19 and 20 and ring sections 21- are deflected or flexed by force of impact with the mail bag.

As best shown in Fig. 3, the frame 1 is removably hinged to the outer ends of the arms 3 and for this purpose said arms are provided with upwardly projecting pins 30 for receiving apertured ears 31- on the frame 1- thus permitting the entire frame 1 with a sliding frame -2 mounted thereon to be removed by simply lifting the frame l out of interlocking engagement with'the pins 30.

The receiver or catcher 2" is movable from a position within the car in registration with the opening as -35 in the frame 1 to 4 position wholly outside of the car at substantially right angles to the direction of travel of the car with the center of its open side in line with'the position of the mail bag when suspended from the crane or bracket b where it is held against the action of the spring 14- by the engagement of the tongue 17 with the locking pin -16. It is now evident that as the moving car approaches the suspended mail bag at the station, the arms 18 and ring segments 2l constituting the lock releasing mechanism extending across the open side of the basket 2 will encounter the mail bag with considerable force depending upon the speed of movement of the train and the force of impact of the bag with such lock releasing mechanism will operate to flex and force such mechanism inwardly into the open side of the basket thus causing the inner end of the bar 19 to pry the adjacent end of the arm 17 out of engagement with the locking pin -1(S and at the same time the mail bag will be withdrawn from its supporting bracket b and forced by its own inertia into the basket whereupon the spring 1 l immediately draws the basket with the bag therein inwardly into the car with its open side in registration with the opening 35- in the frame l through which it may be removed by the attendant in the car, the in ward movement of the basket being limited. by the engagement of the inner end bar 11 with a stop 36 on the frame 1.

The receiving basket is moved outwardly lengthwise of the frame -1 by hand against the action of the spring l l-- until the locking arm 17- is engaged with the locking pin 1G after which the trip ping arm 19 is placed in operative position between the arm 17 and bar -6- around the pin -16, this operation beingusually performed while the entire device is within the car after which it is rocked through the doorway at substantially right angles to the direction of movement of the train thereby causing the basket to protrude a suflicient distance through the car door opening to receive the mail from its supporting brackets b.

It will be observed that the frame l is supported some distance, in this instance, about two feet, above the floor of the car and its inner end provided with a supporting post lcarrying the roller or caster -l and is removably inserted in suitable retaining loops 40 which are secured to the swinging frame 1 as best seen in Fig. 4. The post 4t may, therefore be reversed or inserted from the opposite end of the guides 40 when the frame 1 with the basket thereon is inverted for use on cars moving in the opposite direction.

The flexible portion of the basket --2 is preferably made from what is commonly known as French cable-made hemp rope which is better adapted to hold its proper set or shape, said ropes having their ends inserted through suitable apertures in the frame 8 and provided with crown knots for preventing their withdrawal through the apertures and holding the rope portion of the basket in operative position relatively to the frame -8, the intersecting portions of the ropes being fastened together by passing one rope between the strands of the other and then passing a short strand through the strands of both ropes at the intersections as best seen in Fig. 6.

What I claim is:

1. In a mail catcher for railway mail cars, a bag receiving basket slidable into and out of the car and having its open side disposed in an upright plane and facing in the direction of movement of the car, a detent for holding the basket in its receiving position and means engaged by the bag for tripping the detent.

2. In a mail catcher for railway mail cars, a guide frame hinged to the car, a bag receiving basket slidable on said frame and having its open side disposed in an upright plane and facing in the direction of movement of the car, movable means for holding the basket in its receiving position, and means actuated by contact with the bag for releasing said means.

3. In a mail catcher for railway mail cars, a bag receiving basket slidable into and out of the car and having its open side disposed in an upright plane and facing in the direction of movement of the car, movable means for holding the basket in its receiving position, means actuated by contact with the bag for releasing said means, and additional means for forcing the basket from its receiving position when said holding means is released.

4. In a. mail catcher for railway mail cars, an upright frame, a slidable basket having its open side disposed in an upright position and guided on said frame, and movable means for locking the basket in its receiving position.

5. In a mail catcher for railway mail cars, an upright frame, a slidable basket having its open side disposed in an upright position and guided on said frame, movable means for locking the basket in its receiving position, means actuated by contact with the bag for forcing said locking means from its locking position, and a spring for forcing the spring from its receiving position when unlocked.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 15th day of January 1909.

NEILL H. CAMPBELL.

Witnesses:

JOHN W. GLAsER, JOHN M. HANRAHAN. 

